Allagash Saison is our interpretation of a classic Belgian farmhouse style. It is a golden hued beer, brewed with a 2-Row blend, malted rye, oats and dark Belgian candi sugar. Saison is hopped with Tettnang, Bravo and Cascade hops. Fermented with a traditional saison yeast strain, Saison exhibits notes of spice and tropical fruit in the aroma. Citrus and a peppery spice dominate the flavor and make way for a pleasant malt character. Saison is full bodied with a remarkably dry finish.

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A delicate pour from a long-standing bottle will deliver a crystal-clear yellow body that teems with life as standard-sized bubbles race towards the surface, joining and pushing up a massive head of white froth. With the yeast added it takes on a cloudy appearance and even more bubbles, many of them quite tiny, race quickly upwards. Tiny clumps of yeast and protein can be seen dancing as they're pulled up and then released, dropping back only to be brought up again. The thick head of thin froth gently recedes to a single finger's width, and then holds there for far longer than you'll want to wait before taking a sip. Upon taking that sip, you'll find that a ring of lace is left within a still solid curtain, and this becomes a pattern throughout.

It's delicate on the tongue and across the palate, with a gentle effervescence that caresses rather than bristles. As you progress and some of the carbonation is released it becomes almost creamy-smooth.

Raised to the nose, it expresses a beautiful combination of flowers and fruit (tangerine, apricot, lemon, and some background pineapple) amidst herbs (rosemary, thyme), spice (white pepper, coriander seed), and chalky granite. It's delicately sweet, and that balances the spice, grass, and herbs.

The flavor, as you might expect, mimics the aroma with all of it's complexity, yet doesn't particularly appear any stronger or fuller. It's a remarkably delicate and finely balanced ale that's anything but heavy-handed, leaving it remarkably drinkable. At first the gentle sweetness of the malt helps to propel the floral and fruity flavors forwards, but as you progress the spiciness (mainly coriander), grassiness, and yeasty chalk & granite build, leaving it dryer, spicier, and more herbal in character. It's moderately bitter, and it never becomes more dry or spicy than the malt sweetness can match; and it's clear that someone has focused their attention on achieving that through a moderate fermentation temperature. (Many American-made saisons these days allow the yeast to speak entirely for the beer rather than toning it down to achieve a more polished balance).

Remarkably well-brewed for balance, Allagash Saison is an elegant example of the style that shouldn't be passed by.

A: Pours a hazy pale straw yellow in color with light to moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising slowly from the bottom of the glass and some faint light lemon yellow highlights. The beer has a two finger tall dense foamy white head that slowly reduces to a thick film covering the entire surface of the beer with a medium thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of wheat + pale malts with some light aromas of lemon citrus and herbal hops. There is a light to moderate aroma of hay and peppery yeast.

T: Upfront there are moderate flavors of wheat and pale malts along with a light to moderate flavor of lemon citrus. That is followed by moderate flavors of herbal hops, hay, and spicy/peppery yeast. Hints of bitterness in the finish which does not linger.

M: Light to medium bodied with moderate to heavy amounts of carbonation. Effervescent with a light amount of dryness in the finish.

O: Easy to drink and refreshing - a great beer for the early summer when you are not yet used to the heat (at least here in NC). Very nice flavors and complexity though I could have enjoyed a little more funk.

Interesting, something new from Allagash. Haven't had a new non-sour from them in a while.

Pours a nice fizzy bubbly 1 finger head that is reinforced by many streamin bubbles, fades semi slowly with smaller but decent whispy lacing, hazy part from the cloudy beer and part from a plumb of streaming bubbles all over, lemony straw yellow colored.

Taste comes on with some sweetness to start, a bit of that Belgian candi sugar like note, with a little blond malt sweetness, but still feels dry overall. Then wheat, gristy grainy wheat, with a mild creamy note, grainy toasty and grassy with a touch of wet hay, but no real funk or farmhouse. Yeast brings mild esters which are nice, little fruitiness and some lemony flavors, little lemon rind and bitterness, fairly bitter overall, as well as lemongrass and even a hint of mint from the mild grassy herbal hops, which also bring a chewy spicy note on the finish. Dry finish with that mint and herbal hops lingering, more grassy flavors, lemon zest and faint esters.

Mouth is med bod, lots of effervescent carbonation.

Overall pretty good, bit too much on the lemon rind and spicy bitterness, not enough esters or funk IMO, but that's just how I like the saisons, not bad though.

A slightly hazy, pale yellow beer that pours with a finger of rocky, white head. The head leaves light lacing on the glass.

Moderate phenols of black pepper and some smoke blend with a light fruit and pils malt to make up most of the aroma. There is a moderate hops aroma that is earthy and spicy like Saaz.

The taste mirrors the aroma with the spice and a light smoke dominating, followed by a moderate amount of light colored fruit and touch of pils malt sweetness then moving to a dry finish. There is a moderate hops bitterness and a low, spicy hops flavor that complaints the yeast derived flavors.